Sword Quest Review: Puts the Players to the RPG Weapon Shop's Counter

Craft, hammer and perform fusions to make the best swords in Sword Quest. The kingdom needs help from you. Explore the fantasy land of Feludia!

By Pete Davison From Inside Social Games

Players are cast in the role of a rookie smith tasked with fulfilling a variety of weaponry orders while simultaneously ensuring they have a steady income stream with which they can acquire more raw materials for crafting. The basic flow of gameplay follows players purchasing raw materials from the in-game store, arranging them on their crafting table, using an ever-expanding selection of hammers on the raw materials to affect their quality, unveiling the finished product and then either giving it to a customer or selling it for profit.

For the majority of the time, the player will produce standard equipment, but as their "expertise level" with a specific material increases, they will become more and more likely to produce "Epic" items. These are higher quality, have custom graphic representations and are worth considerably more money. Three identical Epic items can also be "fused" together to produce a Legendary item, too, which is worth even more money and also unlocks a variety of comic book pages.

Alongside the core crafting gameplay, players are also able to take ownership of their workshop by purchasing decor items. Purchasing an entire "set" of these provides both an in-game trophy and a bonus to the player's abilities. It also allows their workshop to have a distinctive appearance.

Sword Quest is a slow-paced game about experimentation. There is a lot of waiting around for materials to be prepared and swords to finish being constructed. While waiting for these real-time activities to complete, players can visit the workshops of any friends who are playing and assist them with the crafting process by using their hammers on their friends'projects. The more friends a player has, the greater the potential bonus to the item's quality and subsequent selling price.

The trouble is, the waiting periods for materials to prepare and swords to finish construction is so long that early progress in Sword Quest feels painfully slow, and the very limited resources with which the player begins means that there is not a lot to do in the early game. This means that following the initial tutorial, which demonstrates the use of several premium items that can speed the whole process up, those players seeking faster-paced gameplay or instant gratification may find themselves a little disappointed. Those willing to invest their time and patience into the game, however, will find a deep crafting experience that encourages experimentation.

It seems that Doremi Star is aware that there is not really enough to Sword Quest to keep players with short attention spans occupied, however, as the company has bold plans for the future.